Friday, March 28, 2008

Cocktail

...

This rather artfully displayed assortment is what I call "a full day's supply of Vitamin Pill." It's all the pills I take over the course of an average day. There are 18.

It's very strange for me to think about. Before two years ago, I only rarely would take an aspirin for an occasional headache. Now it's hard to imagine life without this fistful of chemical helper. I've had brief periods when I had to stop taking each of the drugs in my little pharmacy so I know I'm much better off with them than without.

I had a confusing little scare recently when I went to refill a prescription I'd been taking since I left the hospital. A new doctor wrote up a prescription for me and when I had it filled I noticed the dosage was much lower than what I previously been taking. I pointed this out to the pharmacist who just would not believe that I had been taking this drug in the amounts I told her. She contacted my doctor which resulted in a very concerned call from his office to confirm my old dosage. Apparently I had been prescribed four times the recommended dose for more than two years.

Hopefully there will be no long-term effects from this little misadventure, but for now at least, I've managed to reduce my daily intake by exactly three pills.